Chapter 95 - First deliverable (1)

Sarah was very excited about this project. It's her first one at White corp. It will use her skills that she is proud of, but she can't show them to anyone. Now she can. Well, not really, but she can show the results or her work. Sarah never did anything this big, in this kind of setting. She wondered if other companies are doing something like this as well. Sarah tried to imagine her father in charge of such an operation and shook her head. He is so follow-the-rules guy that there is no way he would ever do something like hack into someone's data, even if he has the skills.

Another side of this that added excitement was that she will get to show off to Aiden. First, full, from start to end. Hers. And she will show what she can do. She was nervous and giddy at the same time.

Before starting her work, Sarah went to the kitchen area. She made herself a coffee, and picked up some snacks and beverages. She is not sure how long it will take her to complete the work, but she knows that once she starts, she can't stop until it's done.

She did one final check on the PC and tools she will use; laptop was ready on the side with a list of data that needs to be collected. Data needed was a long list of items about a factory which has hidden underground facilities: what they produced, when, how much, who was the buyer, resources used, building information, etc.

Sarah flexed her fingers and took a deep breath. Her head slightly inched toward the screen in front of her as her fingers moved over the keyboard at a speed that was impossible to follow with a naked eye.

She was extra careful not to be detected. It was her first time doing this as part of the work, and she wants it to be done perfectly, even though it might take longer.

She found that data is stored in one of three data centers. She collected information on each of them and discovered that if unauthorized access is detected in one data center, other two will be locked down. She concluded that she needs to pick one, and that there is a chance that other two will be out of reach after that. From her preliminary scan, one of the data centers had more security that other two. Sarah decided to go for that one. There must be a good reason why that data center is more protected than other two. She stretched her neck and started exploring ports to get in.

After few firewalls and custom security tools she was in, and initiated scans of files and databases for the data she is looking for. Sarah was happy to see that she picked the right data center. Data she was looking for is there!

There was a knock on her door, but she didn't hear it. It was Aiden. "Lunch?"

She quickly glanced at him before returning her attention to the screens in front of her. "Not now…", she muttered, and her fingers didn't stop moving.

Aiden looked at her for a second and understood what she is doing. He decided not to disturb her. Aiden enjoyed the view of her focused expression for a while, before leaving.

It took her more than two hours to gather all data. They were in multiple servers, and she didn't want to miss any. When she was done, she erased traces of her activity and smiled. 'I was not detected.' She was happy that her first deliverable was executed smoothly.

Sarah made copy of all required data she collected from her local PC, to the secure share that team used, and sent an email to the team with information about the project and location of files.

Less than a minute later, there was a quick knock on her door, and door opened. "Lunch?" Aiden asked with a smile.

She was happy that he waited for her.

"Did everything go well?" Aiden asked over his plate with lunch.

"Yes." She nodded happily while observing that he ate faster than usual. 'He must be hungry since he waited for me.' She had some snacks, so she was fine. Knowing that Aiden gets cranky when he is hungry, and that he waited for her without any complaints, made her truly happy.

After some time, she asked. "How many projects is expected that I complete daily?"

Aiden almost choked on a water he was drinking. "If you do two a week, that is fine."

"Oh, OK." Sarah innocently responded.

Aiden observed her confusion. He placed his hand over hers and squeezed gently. "I see you finished work on this project quickly."

She smiled. His hand holding hers felt good. Soothing. "If I exclude our talk before I started working... a little over two hours."

Aiden lowered his voice. "Don't tell that to Jeff. Otherwise he will increase my workload."

Sarah laughed. "You are taking it easy."

Aiden didn't get offended. He knows that he is taking it easy. "There are no gains for us in rushing it. Just find a pace that works for you, and keep in mind that no matter how much you do, there will always be more work. Don't think that clearing up backlog will be the end of it. Jeff is itchy to sign more contracts, and the only thing stopping him is the thought that the backlog is large."

Sarah thought about it. "Makes sense. How long does it take for report to be created?"

"It depends on amount of data. For the one you did today, I estimate that it will be done by end of workday today. Out of list of deliverables, they will create a table of contents, and each of them fills up about a third of the report."

Sarah nodded in understanding. "Let's finish food and go back. I have meeting with Jeff in half an hour."

"Are you ready to meet him?"

Sarah understood that Aiden is concerned about their talk about Eve. "There is nothing for me to get ready for. I know where my bottom line is, Eve was never part of the deal. In worst case, if he insists, I will not hesitate to leave."

Aiden looked at her with a complex expression. Distressed mostly.

Sarah felt that she said too much. She quickly did her best to coax him. "It's OK, really. Nothing happened yet anyway. I tend to prepare for the worst case, and then anything else that happens is not so bad."